OK, I'll bite and become even more hated than before on these forums.I agree with Klosterman's take on this album and how he expresses it in his article. He LIKES the album and wants Tuneyards to succeed (I know, I know...that's NOT how you spell it), but he's also calling it out as a passing phase, something that won't stand the test of time. I listened to a couple of tracks and I would say that it's kind of cool and sounds interesting, but those aren't songs, so much as they are a pastiche of noise. If I want songs from 2011, I'll listen to Real Estate or Bon Iver, for example. The video for Real Live Flesh, as posted on YouTube, is silly, somewhat narcissitic and looks like a couple of stoned high school girls put it together, but maybe that's the point, which I don't get.There is nothing about the songs I heard that says "These will be great in a couple of years", if I ever got around to listening to the album again. Merrill Garbus is no St Vincent, but that's not to say this album shouldn't be liked, or even loved, right here, right now, to paraphrase one-hit wonder Jesus Jones.Klosterman isn't saying anything other than his own opinion and even guys who manage to get theirs in print are suspect and prone to huge mistakes. PS: I am looking forward to the Radiohead/Maroon 5 mash-up called Moves Like Yorke.

"We had all the momentum. We were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look west, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark, that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back." —Raoul Duke, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas

"Those are brave men knocking at the door. Let's go and kill them!" - Tyrion Lannister

OK, I'll bite and become even more hated than before on these forums.I agree with Klosterman's take on this album and how he expresses it in his article. He LIKES the album and wants Tuneyards to succeed (I know, I know...that's NOT how you spell it), but he's also calling it out as a passing phase, something that won't stand the test of time.

I agree with both you and him. I'm not arguing that he's wrong because it's a great album. It's an album with some catchy songs that's pretty decent, and in a pretty weak music year, it's getting some accolades.The things I'm most bothered by are the tone of his article and the angle from which he approaches the music. The whole essay is basically him saying, "Meh, I didn't listen to these guys at first, but some people like them, so I HAD to listen to them, I guess... And then, what a surprise, they're okay, but not worthy of what people are saying about them..."He just works too hard at compartmentalizing music, trying to organize it and determine WHY it should be liked, or where it stands in time, or what it's derivative of, or whatever. It seems, at least through the character that comes through from his work, that he never actually sits down and enjoys music on it's own rights. Nothing exists as an independent work, it's all about what it sounds like and how people respond to it.Sometimes I'm bored at work or having a bad day and I listen to Bizzness and then I feel better. That's my review of Tune Yards.

I agree with both you and him. I'm not arguing that he's wrong because it's a great album. It's an album with some catchy songs that's pretty decent, and in a pretty weak music year, it's getting some accolades.The things I'm most bothered by are the tone of his article and the angle from which he approaches the music. The whole essay is basically him saying, "Meh, I didn't listen to these guys at first, but some people like them, so I HAD to listen to them, I guess... And then, what a surprise, they're okay, but not worthy of what people are saying about them..."He just works too hard at compartmentalizing music, trying to organize it and determine WHY it should be liked, or where it stands in time, or what it's derivative of, or whatever. It seems, at least through the character that comes through from his work, that he never actually sits down and enjoys music on it's own rights. Nothing exists as an independent work, it's all about what it sounds like and how people respond to it.Sometimes I'm bored at work or having a bad day and I listen to Bizzness and then I feel better. That's my review of Tune Yards.

Yeah, I totally get you, post-elaboration. It's like he needs some kind of frame of reference in order to be able to make his decision, slot it into his idea of where it belongs. In some cases, this approach works, because some music is so referential to other artists and styles, but the same approach also eschews appreciation of the individualistic qualities of an album or song and, sometimes, that's the most important quality.It's equally important to be mindful that just because some people like it, it doesn't mean that a person should or have to like it also. Sure, it's great to find something you like via recommendation and it's sometimes tough to tell someone you didn't like what they like and Klosterman appears to be putting too much emphasis on that.Cheers, LLY, thanks for your elabomaration

"We had all the momentum. We were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look west, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark, that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back." —Raoul Duke, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas

"Those are brave men knocking at the door. Let's go and kill them!" - Tyrion Lannister

Here's why I hate him: it's because he knows literally nothing about music, and, because he's a musical idiot, things which are new or groundbreaking confuse him rather than excite him. Everything he's ever written about music could pretty much be summed up as follows: "This is simplistic, therefore I like it, and it will stand the test of time because dumb ol' me can understand it." Or, conversely: "This is complicated/new/mildly challenging, therefore I dislike it, and clearly it will not stand the test of time because dumb ol' me can't understand it," as if his musical pea brain is some sort of arbiter of what the masses will be listening to 30 years from now--you know, because he's such a visionary.HATE

Here's why I hate him: it's because he knows literally nothing about music, and, because he's a musical idiot, things which are new or groundbreaking confuse him rather than excite him. Everything he's ever written about music could pretty much be summed up as follows: "This is simplistic, therefore I like it, and it will stand the test of time because dumb ol' me can understand it." Or, conversely: "This is complicated/new/mildly challenging, therefore I dislike it, and clearly it will not stand the test of time because dumb ol' me can't understand it," as if his musical pea brain is some sort of arbiter of what the masses will be listening to 30 years from now--you know, because he's such a visionary.HATE

lol...virulent hate. Would it be safe to say that Klosterman represents and expresses the lowest common denominator in music writing?

"We had all the momentum. We were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look west, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark, that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back." —Raoul Duke, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas

"Those are brave men knocking at the door. Let's go and kill them!" - Tyrion Lannister

"The takeaway from all this, I suppose, is that w h o k i l l is a creative record, made by an auteur with (at least a modicum of) irrefutable talent."YOU ARE A NO-TALENT ASS-CLOWN WHO SIMPLY HAS THE AUDACITY TO COMPOSE SNARKY ASIDES LIKE THESE AD NAUSEUM AND IT'S MADE A 'CAREER' FOR YOUDIE

"The takeaway from all this, I suppose, is that w h o k i l l is a creative record, made by an auteur with (at least a modicum of) irrefutable talent."YOU ARE A NO-TALENT ASS-CLOWN WHO SIMPLY HAS THE AUDACITY TO COMPOSE SNARKY ASIDES LIKE THESE AD NAUSEUM AND IT'S MADE A 'CAREER' FOR YOUDIE

I hear the voice of Merrill Garbus speaking through you. She uses a medium to express anger, 'cause she's busy being artistically fruitful

"We had all the momentum. We were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look west, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark, that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back." —Raoul Duke, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas

"Those are brave men knocking at the door. Let's go and kill them!" - Tyrion Lannister

Come to think of it, I bet I could bring myself to actually de-map Chuck Klosterman if presented with the right opportunity.

Is that a secret GoogleMap feature?

"We had all the momentum. We were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look west, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark, that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back." —Raoul Duke, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas

"Those are brave men knocking at the door. Let's go and kill them!" - Tyrion Lannister

lol...virulent hate. Would it be safe to say that Klosterman represents and expresses the lowest common denominator in music writing?

Nearly all writing about music would fit this description; Klosterman tries to delude people into thinking he's something more, despite his utter ignorance about the entire musical universe that exists outside his midget brain, which I always like to imagine in bubble-thought form as consisting of a loop that switches back and forth between the monkey with cymbals and the music video for "Wonderwall".

Nearly all writing about music would fit this description; Klosterman tries to delude people into thinking he's something more, despite his utter ignorance about the entire musical universe that exists outside his midget brain, which I always like to imagine in bubble-thought form as consisting of a loop that switches back and forth between the monkey with cymbals and the music video for "Wonderwall".

The majority of Pitchfork reviews I have read fall into this category. It seems like as long as they are breezily phrased with a smattering of ersatz evocative nu-vocabulary (underlining the reviewer's contact with "cool"), it passes as some kind of incisive overview of the album being reviewed. But it's not, it's hot molten bullshit spewing out of someone's ass.One way to analyse Pitchfork's rating system

"We had all the momentum. We were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look west, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark, that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back." —Raoul Duke, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas

"Those are brave men knocking at the door. Let's go and kill them!" - Tyrion Lannister

"We had all the momentum. We were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look west, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark, that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back." —Raoul Duke, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas

"Those are brave men knocking at the door. Let's go and kill them!" - Tyrion Lannister

He just works too hard at compartmentalizing music, trying to organize it and determine WHY it should be liked, or where it stands in time, or what it's derivative of, or whatever.

...isn't that his job?

mk, on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012, 9:09 AM, said:

Here's why I hate him: it's because he knows literally nothing about music, and, because he's a musical idiot, things which are new or groundbreaking confuse him rather than excite him. Everything he's ever written about music could pretty much be summed up as follows: "This is simplistic, therefore I like it, and it will stand the test of time because dumb ol' me can understand it." Or, conversely: "This is complicated/new/mildly challenging, therefore I dislike it, and clearly it will not stand the test of time because dumb ol' me can't understand it," as if his musical pea brain is some sort of arbiter of what the masses will be listening to 30 years from now--you know, because he's such a visionary.

And yet, you seem to have read everything he has written about music. Is it masochism? Is it for the same reason why people seem to watch Skip Bayless?But, I have to say, he's not writing music-related articles on Grantland for you. He's writing them for me. You should be getting your music reviews elsewhere, clearly. I, on the other hand, am more confused than excited by newfangled music that consists mostly of random sounds, and am interested in reading about whether or not those sounds are likely to spark a musical revolution or to fade into the background like most other attempts.

mk, on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012, 9:19 AM, said:

"The takeaway from all this, I suppose, is that w h o k i l l is a creative record, made by an auteur with (at least a modicum of) irrefutable talent."YOU ARE A NO-TALENT ASS-CLOWN WHO SIMPLY HAS THE AUDACITY TO COMPOSE SNARKY ASIDES LIKE THESE AD NAUSEUM AND IT'S MADE A 'CAREER' FOR YOUDIE

Saw this expression among the comments on YouTube while relistening to Bizness"Klosterfuck"

"We had all the momentum. We were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look west, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark, that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back." —Raoul Duke, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas

"Those are brave men knocking at the door. Let's go and kill them!" - Tyrion Lannister